2. “We serial killers are your sons, we are
your husbands, we are everywhere. And
there will be more of your children dead
tomorrow.”
“You feel the last bit of breath leaving
their body. You’re looking into their
eyes. A person in that situation is God.”
~ Ted Bundy
3. Serial Killers
Hillside Stranglers BTK
Son of Sam Jerry Brudos
Jeff Dahmer Andrei Chikatilo
John Wayne Gacy Peter Sutcliffe
Nightstalker Joel Rifkin
Ed Kemper Jack the Ripper
Ted Bundy Henry Lee Lucas
Trailside Killer Wayne Williams
Zodiac Green River Killer
Ed Gein Gainesville Ripper
Peter Kurten
4. What is a Serial Killer?
What do YOU think the definition is?
5. Definitions of a Serial
Killer
Someone who murders 2 or more
victims with an emotional cooling
off period between the homicides
6. Profiling Beginnings
UNSUB-unknown subject
“If you want to understand the
artist you have to look at the
painting”
What took place?
Why did it happen the way it did?
Who could have committed this
crime for these reasons?
7. Inside the Mind of a Killer
They sense weakness and vulnerability
Thrill of the hunt gets them going
Behavior reflects personality
“Homicidal triad”-cruelty to small
animals, fire-setting and bedwetting
beyond an appropriate age
Three most common motives of serial
killers and rapists are DOMINATION,
MANIPULATION and CONTROL
Serial killers are sexual predators
8. Inside the Mind…
One of their main fantasy jobs is police
officer
Many are “police buffs”-they hang out
at police bars and talk shop. They also
like to find out about the investigation
Triggering event-”stressor”-most
common are losing job and losing
wife/girlfriend
9. Inside the Mind…
Most single important factor in the
development of a serial killer is the role
of fantasy
Many fantasize about a relationship
between sex and death (Ed Kemper,
Jeff Dahmer)
Behavior escalates from fantasy to
reality, helped along by pornography
and cruelty to animals and peers.
Fantasy is in place long before murders
start
10. The Role of Fantasy
82% of serial killers report daydreaming
in their childhood accompanied by
compulsive masturbation. If fantasies
are violent, violence and sex become
associated with one another
71% report feeling isolated as children.
Isolation encourages substitution of
fantasy for human contact
11. The Role of Fantasy:
Test Runs
Serial killers start out by giving the
fantasy a test run
This involves cruelty to animals
and small children
Stealing women’s underwear,
exhibitionism, voyeurism, burglary
and other minor offenses
12. Organized or
Disorganized?
Organized Disorganized
Continual refinement Bodily mutilation
of fantasy Lack of preparation
Improvement of Body left in view
details from one Violence is sudden
crime to the next
Often they are
Obsession with detail
severely disturbed
Planning of crime Some UNSUBS are
and disposal of body mixed
Socially competent
Follows crime in the
news
13. M.O. vs Signature
Modus Operandi Signature
Learned behavior What the UNSUB
does to fulfill
What the UNSUB
himself
does to commit Does not change
the crime
Expresses the
(shooting,
UNSUB’s
stabbing) personality
It can change He NEEDS to do it
14. Deciphering Crime
Scenes
Blitz style attack or attack on small or
physically challenged people means
attacker has little confidence and self-
esteem, not charming, asocial type
Sexual attacks on the elderly mean the
person has little or no sexual experience
15. Deciphering Crime Scenes
Severe facial trauma/covering the face
means the person may have known the
victim or is trying to depersonalize her
Covering the entire body means the
person feels bad about what he did
Multiple stab wounds mean a lot of
anger and emotion (think about 30 stab
wounds)
16. History of Serial Killing
Serial killing may be a much older
phenomenon than we realize
Stories about witches, werewolves,
vampires may have been created
to explain atrocities committed by
humans (Chikatilo)
Beowulf-Grendel
17. History of Serial Killing
Gilles de Rais
Lived during the 1400’s
Bodyguard of Joan of Arc
One of the wealthiest people in Europe
Sexually molested and killed at least
140 and no more than 800 peasant
boys
Practiced necrophilia with dead boys
Hanged and burned
18. History…
Countess Elizabeth Bathory
Born in Transylvania in the 1500’s
Belonged to noble family
Sadist, liked to torture servants
Drained victims’ blood and bathed in it
Murdered 650 women in 10 years
Bricked up her bedroom and could not
leave
19. Jack the Ripper
First modern day serial killer
1888 Whitechapel, London
5 victims in 3 months
Killings stopped suddenly
Identity unknown
20. Jack the Ripper Victims
Polly Nichols Annie Chapman
Elizabeth Stride
23. Ed Kemper
Q: “What do you
think when you
see a pretty girl
walking down the
street?”
A: “One side of
me says I’d like to
talk to her, date
her. The other
side of me says I
wonder how her
head would look
on a stick?”
34. Female Killers
One out of every 5 serial murderers are
women.
Often more deadly and prolific than
men
“quiet killers”
Killing career is longer
Killings usually committed in
homes/hospitals, somewhere not that
noticeable
Motives are often personal financial gain
35. Types of Female Killers
Black Widows
Most common type of female killer
Focus on husbands, children, lovers
85% use poison
Motive is material gain
38. Angels of Death
Kill victims in their care
Nurses kill babies, old people
Childcare workers who kill children
Motives are attention and praise,
sense of power, misguided sense
of mercy
39. Munchausen Syndrome by
Proxy
Usually mothers, make children
hurt or sick to gain medical
attention. Illnesses can be real or
fabricated.
Welcome painful medical tests
Very involved in medical care
Praise the medical staff
SIDS
40. Surviving a Serial Killer
“Take it from one who knows: it
pays to be paranoid.” Danny Rolling,
The Gainesville Ripper
You might already be a survivor…
you just don’t know it.
41. Surviving…
92% victims are white
82% are female
80% are unmarried
73% were ages 15-28
Some are just by chance and
unlucky
Certain situations increase risk
TRUST YOUR INTUITION!!!
42. Surviving…
BETTER RUDE THAN DEAD
If it doesn’t feel right, it probably
isn’t!!
Do not be embarrassed by
“irrationality”
Once you’re in the car you’re done
(78% SK use cars)
Don’t be fooled by what’s inside
the car
43. Warning Signs of Duplicity
1. Feigned physical weakness
2. TMI
3. Promise
4. Friendly authority
5. Ego challenge
6. Teaming
7. Referencing
8. Imposed obligation
9. Appeal for help
10.Never taking no for an answer